Button-card



L.'W. HARLEM.

BUTTON CARD.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 21.1920.

1,3 8, 33. Patented Aug. 23, 1921.

mvmron 05 $404 BY I urrs! STATES LEwIs w. HARLE on Nnw YonK; N. Y.

BUTTQNQQARD.

7 Specification of Lette'rs Patent.

Substitute for abandoned applicetionlserialK013358374,'fiied February 12.1920. This application 'file'd -J'n1y 21,"1920. Serial No. 397,991

To all-whom it may concern: J .i

- Be it known that'I, 'Lnwrs W. HARLEM, a citizen of the United States, residing-at 555 West 17 3d St New York, in the county of NewfYor'k and State of New York. have invented certain new and. useful Improvements in Button-Cards, of which the following is a specification. My invention relates to anew and im proved construction for a button card. I

For more than fifty years it has been customaryl to sell buttons to department stor'es and other retailers, mounted on paper cards to, which these buttonswere sewed.

These buttons havealways been sewed by hand to the'button cards by means of a'continuous' thread which was passed through two of the holes of each button and'then was continued along the back of the card to the next button.

Since these buttons have been sewed onto cards in quantities of one dozen or more, it has been customary to sell thebuttons' a few at a time, so thatit was necessary" to "sevei-fthem from the card. This has ordinarily been done by cutting the thread with r a pair of'scissors, as pulling'the' buttons off the card would twist and warp it badly and would often break the thread at the same timeto such an extent, that a number of buttonswould fall ofl. As soon as a'button was cut off the card,

the thread became loose and inc-matter how -'much care was exercised, other buttons would fall off the" card.

This has been for more than fifty years a source of great loss and annoy'anceto the .button trade'because many customers'will not buy buttons on a card 'having'a bad appearance and they will not buy loosebut tons at all as they desire toseethe name of the manufacturer orthe trade mark which is printiedupon the card. Manyof thelarge department-stores have returned many cases of buttons at the end-of each season to'the manufacturer. to be sewed on new cards, or they have kept several employeesbusy sewing the buttons back on'the cards.

Attempts have been made to devise a machine for sewing thebuttons on the cards in a secure manner, but it has not been found possible to develop a practical machine because buttons come in so many different sizes. a

It has also been proposed to spreada paste made of flour and water upon the backs of'the cards andto cover'thiswith a sheet of thin paperyso that the sheet of thin paper would adhere tothe'thread and prevent the buttons from falling off) This enpedient, hOW GVQIydl d notv go into, practical use because the paste did not dry quickly I and it caused the'card tocwarp; 1

The manufacture and sale of buttons is seasonal and orders mustbe filled within a short spaceof time.

It would require a prohibitive amountof floor space to have a great number of cards This "is because these buttons mounted uponthe cards are packed in layers of a dozen or more which are shipped to the customer. If'the paste is not perfectly dry, it comes off on the buttons of the adjacent card, which makes thernunsalable. Inaddi- 'tion, a paste softens in a damp hotatmosphere and this will causeeven a dried paste to adhere to the buttons of the adjacent card.

According to my invention I secure-the thread'at the back of the card to the body '-of the card by .means of a thin translucent flexible adherent and non-flaking film' off produced a very a quick drying adhesive that preferably does not penetrate the card to any great extent and does not warp it or aifect'its appearance.

Other objects of my invention willbe disclosed in the following description and drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment thereof. 1

Figure 1 isa front view of my novel card. r

Fig. 2 is a rear view of my novel card.

Fig. 3 is a section along 3-3 of F ig. 2.

Fig-4 is a section along 4-4 of Fig. 2.

After the buttons 1 have beensewedto the card 2 by meansof the thread .3 in the usual and well-known manner, the button cardsare-laid face downward. The custom the film of in the trade has been to sew the buttons on by hand, by the ordinary stitch shown in the drawings, and which may be called a running stitch for the purposes of this specification. Experience has shown that the buttons sewed on in this manner were never held tightly to the card, because the thread lay loosely on the back of the card. This rattling of the buttons caused fragile ones to break during shipment. The paper of which the card is composed is preferably filled with a good sizing or some other good filler which closes up its pores. A cement consisting of a solution of pyroxylin in acetone is then spread over the back of the card on all parts thereof where the thread is located. This is preferably done so as to progide a continuous film on the back of the car I prefer to make my solution in the preparation of eight ounces of pyroxylin to one gallon of acetone.

The cement dries almost instantly and it does not penetrate to any substantial extent into the pores of the paper. v It leaves a thin translucent flexible and tenacious film of celluloid located substantially at the surface of the back of the card and with sufiicient thickness to surround the thread and prevent it from moving; This film does not flake and fall oif even after many months of exposure in spite of its thinness and is not affected by high temperatures. In fact the film may be exposed to temperatures much higher than that of any known climate without any deterioration or without any loss of its desirable properties. Neither moisture nor heat makes the back ofthe film, that is, the face of the film which is not adjacent the paper card, soft or become adherent. V

The cards containing the buttons can thus be shipped to all climates and kept in moist, hot stock rooms, with the back of one card adjacent the buttons of the next card, without having the film come off on the buttons of the next card and spoil their appearance. Buttons having cloth covered shanks projecting from the backs of the cards are well known in this industry. Such buttons are not spoiled by using the film of celluloid be.

fore described, because this film is so thin and so translucent that it is not visible.

Of course, a film of pyroxylin which would flake and fall oil would be useless for the purposes herein described.

As the thread is sewed in place by hand, there are many partsthereof which remain slightly spaced'from the back of the card and the film of cement is absorbed by the thread so as to thicken it and strengthen it and it also fiows under the thread so that pyroxylin connects it to the back of the card. p

This structure has proved very satisfactory in use and has solved the before-mentioned requirements for the first time as elaborate practical tests have shown. The film is absolutely unaffected by moisture or by any other climatic conditions.

I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention but it is clear that numerous changes could be made without departing from its spirit.

I claim 1. In a button card having a paper body and having buttons sewed thereto by means of a running stitch of thread, the combination ofthe body of the said card and a thin tenacious film of adhesive whichconnects the back of the said card to the thread located adjacent thereto, the said film being substantially unaffected by moisture and heat, and being durable and flexible, the said film being absorbed by the said thread to thicken and strengthen it. 7

2. In labutton card having a paper body and having buttons sewed thereto by means of a running stitch of thread, the combination of the body of the said card and a thin tenacious film of adhesive which connects the back of the said card to the thread located adjacent thereto, the said film being substantially unafiected by moisture and heat, and being non-flaking and flexible, the said film being absorbed by the said thread to thicken and strengthen it, the paper body of the said card having its pores substantially filled with a filling material, so that the said film does not penetrate into the said paper to any substantial extent, whereby saidcard remains unwarped.

3. In a button card having a paper body and having buttons secured thereto by means of'a running stitch of thread, the combination of the body of the said card and a thin tenacious non-fiaking-flexible film of pyroxylin located at the back of the said card and bindingthe threadthereto'. the said film being substantially unafiected by moisture and heat and being absorbed by the thread to strengthen and thicken it.

4. In a button card having a paper body and having buttons sewed'thereto by means of thread which is partly located at the back of the said card, the combination of the body of the said card and a thin, tenacious film of non-aqueous adhesive which connects the back of the said card to the thread located thereto, said film being substantially unaffected by moisture and heat so that itsback is non-adherent while its front adheres said thread thereto, the said film being subtenaciously to the card. stantially unaifected by moisture and heat;

6. A button card having a fibrous body to so that its back is non-adherent while its 10 which buttons are sewn by means of thread front adheres tenaciously to the card. which is partly located at the back of the In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my said card, the said back having a thin tenasignature. V cious 'fihnof adhesive which connects the I v LEWIS W. HARLEM. 

